There are an estimated 50,000 street vendors in Los Angeles, and the majority are women. Many are undocumented. Until this year, vendors were subjected to steep fines and public harassment, and worked under a shadow of fear due to their legal status.

For immigrants caught crossing the U.S.-Mexico border or apprehended by ICE, serving time in an immigration detention center can be a harrowing experience. For trans immigrants, many of whom are fleeing persecution in their home countries, even more so.

The United States has the highest juvenile incarceration rate in the world. There are roughly 53,000 minors being held at juvenile and adult detention facilities here on any given day — and once a young person enters the penal system, chances are it won’t be their last time: 55% of kids are rearrested within a year…

In matters of politics, culture, and more recently science and technology, California has long been at the vanguard of change. This is also true in the realm of activism: The Farmworker Movement that began in the Central Valley and was led by people like Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, and Larry Itliong; the Black…

Black infants in Fresno, California were found to be three times more likely than white babies to die within their first year, according to a 2015 study by First Five Fresno County. Now, Fresno’s Black Infant Health program is working to change that by supporting the most important people in those baby’s lives —…

Carmen Yulin Cruz, the Mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico, spoke with Rise Up: Be Heard reporters in Washington D.C. on January 30, just hours before President Donald Trump’s first State of the Union address. Cruz spoke hopefully but forcefully about the need for continued disaster relief in Puerto Rico, and the future of…

Social justice icon Dolores Huerta spoke to Rise Up: Be Heard reporters in Los Angeles on January 17 at IntoAction!, a nine day festival celebrating and showcasing the intersection of art and activism.

Garment workers in Los Angeles marched through the streets of the city’s garment district on Saturday, November 25, to call for a boycott of 13 major clothing retailers this holiday season. Organizers chose the day after Black Friday, which they have dubbed “Anti-Sweatshop Saturday,” to announce the boycott. Their…

In this 360 video, young immigrant Luis Gomez, 28, reflects on Jeff Sessions recent announcement rescinding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, and describes his experience as a DACA recipient working at the LGBT Center in Orange County, CA.

Growing up in a traditional household wasn’t easy for Emilio Ramos, who identifies as gender-fluid. His parents didn’t understand or accept his sexuality, and he turned to alcohol and drug use to cope as a teen. Then, in 2011, he found Terry Lawrence and Jacqueline Garza, who welcomed him into their “Two Spirit”…

Three recent deaths have put California’s largest immigrant detention center, the Adelanto Detention Facility, on the map. Immigrant rights activists say it’s time to call these places what they really are: prisons.

In the seaside farming town of Salinas, California, years of grassroots organizing produced a victory for the immigrant farmworker community and health care advocates, who persuaded officials in Monterey County to extend and expand a pilot program giving undocumented immigrants access to prevention and specialty…

Arab American activists and their supporters took to the streets of Los Angeles on October 15th to protest President Trump’s proposed travel ban policy that would apply to travelers from six, mostly Muslim countries: Chad, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen.

For this 360 video, Lakshmi Sarah interviewed DACA recipient and Rise Up: Be Heard fellow Berania Barraza about the challenges she experienced growing up undocumented, the anxiety of being DACAmented, and her hope for a more secure future. The text interview has been edited for length and clarity.